Husain Haqqani leaves for United States

Islamabad: Pakistan`s former envoy to the US
Husain Haqqani on Tuesday left for the US after the Supreme Court
eased travel restrictions that were imposed on him after he
was implicated in the memo scandal.

Haqqani travelled from the Prime Minister`s House, where
he was living for the past few weeks, to the international
airport in Rawalpindi along with a large security detail early
this morning.

He did not talk to media waiting at the airport.

The former envoy took a flight to the United Arab
Emirates, from where he will fly to the US to meet his wife
and children, media reports said.

Haqqani`s wife, parliamentarian Farahnaz Ispahani, has
been in the US for the past fortnight or so.

Haqqani`s lawyer Asma Jahangir yesterday filed an
application in the Supreme Court which asked that the bar on
him leaving the country should be withdrawn as he had fully
cooperated with the judicial commission investigating the
alleged memo which had sought US help to stave off a possible
military takeover in May last year.

In its order, the apex court said Haqqani would be
allowed to travel out of Pakistan on the condition that he
provides details of his visit to the registrar of the court
and that he would be bound to return on four days` notice if
his attendance is required by the judicial commission or the
court.

After the apex court`s decision, Haqqani held a meeting
with the deputy chief of the US mission in Islamabad, Jonathan
Pratt, at the PM`s House.

The apex court also extended the term of the judicial
commission by two months yesterday so that it could complete
its probe into the alleged memo.

The work of the commission has run into problems as
Pakistani-American businessman Mansoor Ijaz, the main accuser
in the memo scandal, has refused to come to Islamabad to
testify due to security concerns.

Haqqani was forced to resign last year after Ijaz claimed
he had drafted and delivered the memo to the former US
military chief on the instructions of the envoy.

Haqqani and the Pakistan government have dismissed Ijaz`s
allegations.

Haqqani`s counsel Asma Jehangir said no one could stop
him from travelling abroad as he was "innocent". The apex
court`s order was a "victory of truth", she said.